Spindle adapter



Patented Mar. 1 1949 SPINDLE ADAPTER Karl A. Gelpke, Edgeileld, S. C., assignor to Gelco Development Corporation, Canton, Mass., a

corporation of Delaware Application vJanuary 8, 1947, Serial No. 720,903

l 1 Claims. l

This invention relates to spindle adapters for spinning frames,l which are devices in the nature of sleeves or bushings commonly fitting frictionally upon the blades of conventional warp or filling spindles to convert these conventional spindles into the equivalent of the later tube type spindle and thus adapt the older spindles to the use of yarn carriers of tube type made of paper and other materials having advantages of greater yarncarrying capacity, lesser cost, and other wellknown desirable features. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved spindle adapter enabling quick and easy conversion of a spinning frame equipped with spindles suitable for the reception of filling bobbins for automatic looms, so that tube type warp bobbins may be.

employed and filled thereon without the necessity for removing the set of filling bobbin spindles and replacing them with tube type spindles, this change-over being effected by merely applying the adapters to the existing lling spindles in the frame, and the reconversion for further use in the production of filling bobbins being even more easily accomplished merely by the removal of the adapters from such spindles. A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved spindle adapter which shall be cheaper and easier to produce and less subject to wear in use and damage in handling while attaining and maintaining superior accuracy of balance needed at the very high speeds of spindle rotation to prevent excessive Wear of the spindle and bolster and unnecessary oil and power consumption.

To these ends the device of the invention comprises a spindle adapter which in its preferred form is composed wholly of metal, plastic, or other material of uniform density and incapable of absorbing moisture, thereby avoiding the difficulties of obtaining proper balance in bobbins, tube type spindles, and adapters made of wood with its inherent differences in density in different portions of the same piece, and diiilculties arising through changes in shape or size of the wood caused by humidity variationsiv To cut down on power costs, and also to make for easier handling, the novel adapter, or at least the major portion thereof, is made of magnesium alloy or other member of the family of so-called light weight metals, with the portions of the adapter which receive the hardest Wear, or in certain instances with the entire surface of the adapted, reinforced against such Wear by protective coatings or inserts of harder material. To simplify manufacture, the Iadapter in its preferred form has been devised in a manner enabling it to be formed mainly out of preformed tubing of light metal, thus avoiding the operations of drilling. reaming, or finishing the necessary long axial passage therethrough with the attendant diiliculty in this operation of retaining the precise balance of this member; in this same form, the problem of providing wear resistance at and -about the extremities of the adapter. where the greatest wear falls, has been solved by forming the tip and butt of the adapterof different material such as cast iron or steel or sintered metal alloys or synthetic materials like rubber or plastics, either used as coatings or platings or as separate tip and butt portions which are combined with the tubular intermediate member or barrel by simple drive ts requiring a minimum of machining and no additional provisions for securing the parts together, or are assembled by hand directly on the spindle. The use of several parts made from different materials allows selection of materials for a given part which will offer the best advantages in wear resistance, lightness, or economy, and furtherwill permit the use of stock ti p and butt pieces for long or short spindles, supplying only diierent lengths of barrels.

Further, in a preferred form, I provide for xing the adapter rmly on the spindle without possibility of slipping with attendant improper operation and Wear, by the use of set screws located in diametrically opposed and thus balanced relation, which by being installed in the separate tip portion (or ralternatively in the separate butt portion) when such is made of harder material can be tightened securely without danger of stripping the threads, which would not be possible for long in the softer material of a one-piece all light metal adapter.

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown in the laccompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a conventional spindle for the reception of a lling bobbin, with the improved adapter thereon and shown in longitudinal axial section, and with a tube type bobbin in place thereon, also in section.

Fig. 2 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1, showing Ian alternative form of adapter in longitudinal axial section in place thereon, but without a 1 bobbin.

The form of adapter shown in Fig. 1 comprises a barrel I of magnesium alloy or other light metal with a tip 3 oi' harder metal such as cast iron 3 I permanently amxed thereto 'at one end and an acorn I likewise of wear-resisting material of the kinds indicated hereinbefore permanently amxed to the other end thereof. The barrel I is preferably made from tube stock of uniform internal and external diameter, as the uniformity ofwall thickness at all points about the axis of such tubing is or can be superior to that attained by boring a solid bar or rod, owingtothe inherent difficulty of maintaining the .drillin truly axial relation throughout the requiredl lengthof the bore 1, through which extends the blade 9 of the spindle II. This use of performed tubing for the barrel results in practice in far more accurate kinetic balance of the adapter, leading to improved operation at the customary spindlespeeds in the neighborhood of 10,0D R. P. M.-

The bore 1 'is left .cylindrical as initially provided in the tube stock; but the exterior surface I3 of the barrel is .given a slight taper from its point of attachment to the acorn to the point I5 near its connection with. the tip 3, beyond which point the outside diameter of the barrel increases as indicated at I1 toa dimension fitting snugly within the paper bobbin, cop or tube I9 on which the yarn is to be wound and which thus comprises the removable -yarn carrier. The outside diameter of the barrel I is reduced well below the corresponding inside diameter of the cop I9 at all points in its length, except the part I1, so that the cop I9 seats only on the `tip 3 and the acorn 5 and the part I1, the clearance at all intervening points facilitating dofling and donning of the bobbins.

The acorn 5 which supports and centers the butt end of the paper cop I9 comprises a light sleeve of the materials aforesaid, having the proper size of internal bore for an easy sliding iit over the ferrule 2l at the base of the customary spindle 9, and having an external diameter fitting closely but easily within the butt of cop I9. The butt end of this acorn 5 is beveled to fit the corresponding adjacent portion of the whirl 23, while the other end is counterbored to receive a corresponding reduced extension 25 of the barrel I with a tight press iit which unites these parts permanently, or with an easy hand t.

The tip 3 is likewise a light sleeve of cast iron or other preferred material bored axially 4and iinished'to make a close but sliding fit upon the tip of the blade 9 of the spindle, and is nished externally in the formof a cylinder or slight taper having a maximum outside diameter conforming to that of the adjacent terminal portion I1 of the barrel I. It is permanently affixed to such barrel in the same manner as is the acorn 5, by counterboring the end of the barrel and forcing an extension 21 on the tip into such recess with a tight press fit, or may be a hand fit as desired. To secure the adapter xedly in working position upon the spindle', when made of appropriate material the tip is bored diametrically and tapped to receive two or more identical opposed set screws 29 which after installation of the adapter upon the blade 9 of the spindle are turned in to seatv tightly against the blade and thus t'o prevent relative motion between the blade and the adapter. Being identical and disposed in diametric or symmetrical relation, these set screws do not impair the `kinetic Ibalance of the adapter.

The applied tip and butt portions of the adapter receive'and successfully resist practically all the wear to which the adapter is subjected either in u se or in handling while off the spindle.

It is contemplated, however, within the scope of the invention to make available the convenience an'orded by the light metal adapter, in a one-piece structure having the main advantage of the adapter just described, while having certain additional desirable features toV offset the loss of some of the superiority of the first form. Thus, in the alternative construction of Fig. 2, the entire adapter 30 is formed from a single piece of magnesium alloy or other light weight metal which may be cut fromv rod or bar stock, but preferably is cast with a tapering axial passage 3l requiring merely a reaming operation to true it up, together with accurate boring and finishing of the portions 33 and 35 of this passage to seat respectively upon the tip of blade 9 and the ferrule 2i thereof, and to be held firmly thereon l by friction when thrust down over the spindle by hand. After these surfaces 33 and 35 have been finished, the exterior surface 31 is finished in truly concentric relation to these surfaces 33 and 35 with a slight full-length taper enabling the paper cop I9 to wedge rmly thereon and to be held by frictional engagement during the winding.

It is necessary to give these soft alloys protection against Wear in order to have a sufiicient length of useful life, and for this purpose the entire outside surface of the adapter of Fig. 2 and likewise of the barrel portion of the forms of Figs. 1 and 3, if desired, is given a surface treatment or coating 39, Fig. 4, increasing its Wear resistance. Such surface treatment is attained in certain instances by altering the surface portion of the parent metal by the use of electrochemical, mechanical, chemical, or thermal processes or combinations thereof, to harden such surface or otherwise improve its resistance to abrasion, as for example by the process commonly known as anodizing, which is a term applied to the results of Dow Chemical Co.s treatments No. 7, No. 12 and No. 14. In other in.. stances, metals having greater wear resistance such as cadmium or ch imium are used to form a surface coating, applied by plating, spraying, or otherwise. In still other cases, a synthetic non-metallic coating is employed, applied by dipping, spraying, or painting. In the case of both the .anodizingprocess and the application of synthetic non-metallic coatings, color is used to enable one dimension or batch of adapters to be quickly distinguished from another.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 3 is a lighter form of the adapter of Fig. 1, which is cheaper to make than the latter. It utilizes a length of straight preformed tubing 4I for the barrel, with .both its inside and outside surfaces cylindrical and devoid of taper, into one end of winch the tip 3 is driven with a tight press fit, while the other end is similarly driven into a counterbore 43 in the end of the acorn 45, the lip of the acorn around the counterbore being given a long taper 41. With this construction no machining of the length of tubing forming the barrel 4I is required apart from cutting off the ends squarely and smoothly. Other than in these respects, the construction is or may be as in the form of Fig. 1, and as in the case of the other two forms, the surface of the barrel 4I is in certain instances given a protective surface treatment or coating increasing its resistance to wear, corrosion, and

end of the adapter is formed Just as shown in Fig. 2, While the tip I of Fig. 1 is installed as shown For special purposes, the barrel l oi the form of Fig. 1 is made of plastic, with the applied -tip 3 and the acorn i permanently or removably combined therewith in manner analogous to that shown in Fig. 1, or .in any other suitable or'preferred manner.

While I have illustrated and described certain forms in which my invention may be embodied. I am aware that many modiiications may be made therein by any person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of .the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the particular formsshown, or to upon the tip portion of the spindle.

the details or construction thereof, but what 1 do Y claim is:

l. A spindle adapter for spinning frame spindles comprising a barrel formed of light weight meal and va. tip portion formed of material of relatively greater resistance to abrasion.

9. A spindle adapter forspinning trame spindles comprising in combination a barrel of. uniform internal diameter, a 'tip portion "applied thereto having a lesser internal diameter nttlng upon the tip portion of thespindle, and a butt portion applied thereto having a greater internal diameter than the barrel ntting upon the spindle at points remote from the tip portion thereof.

10. -A spindle adapter for spinning frame 4spin-- dies comprising in combination a barrel of `uniform internal and` externaldiameter. a tip portion applied thereto having a lesser internal diameter tting upon the tip portion oi the spin- A die, and a butt 'portion applied to the barrel and 2. A spindle adapter for spinning frame spindles comprising a barrel formed of light weight metal and tip and butt portions formed of material of relatively greater resistance to abrasion, united to the barrel.

3. A spindle adapter for spinning frame spinl dles comprising a barrel formed of light weight metal and a tip portion formed of material oi' `greater abrasion resistance than the barrel, permanently united to the barrel.

4. A spindle adapter for spinning frame spindles comprising in combination a barrel formed or light weight metal, a tip formed of different metal permanently united to the barrel, and screw means in connection with the tip removably xing the adapter to the spindle.

5. A spindle adapter for spinning frame spindies comprising in combination a barrel formed o! light weight metal, a tip formed of diierent metal engaged with the barrel, and a. pluralityl of set screws disposed in kinetic balance and engaging the tip and the spindle and thus removably iixing the adapter to the spindle.

6. A spindle adapter for spinning frame spindles comprising in combination a barrel formed of light metal alloy, and an abrasion-resisting tip permanently united to the barrel and engaging the spindle.

7. A spindle adapter for spinning frame spindles comprising in combination a ferrous metal tip engaging the tip of the spindle blade, a light metal alloy barrel, and a ferrous metal butt engaging the base portion of the spindle blade, the

having a greater external diameter than the barrel.

11.11 spindle adapter for spinning frame spindles comprising in combination a barrel of cylindrical form insideand outside, a tip portion of substantially the same outside diameter as the barrel and affixed to one end thereoij, and a butt portion of materially greater outside diameter affixed to the other end thereof.

, KARL. a. GELPKE.

4 lnnrmtniilclizs CITED The following references are of record in the A.me of this patent:-

UMTED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,095,357 Roux May 15, 1911i 1,962,339 Cotton June 12, 1934 2,025,949 Kelly Dec. 31, 1935 2,100,411 Rouleaux Nov. 30, 1937 2,168,248 Staufert Aug. 1, 1939 2,240,055 Sager et al. ,Apr. 29, 1941 2,241,118 Cotchett May 6, 1941 2,246,475 Stahlecker June 17, 1.941 2,385,718 Menking Sept. 25, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 280,861 Italy Dec. 22, 1930 285,732 Great Britain Feb. 23, 1928 458,746 Germany Apr. 20, 1928 498,786 Germany May 27, 1930 Corticnto o! Correction Patent No. 2,463,484. l Much 1, 1949.

`KARL A. GELPKE It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed spccication'of the above numberedr patent requiring correction as follows:

Col 5,' line 21, claim 1, for the word "mea.l read metal;

i and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the r lsame may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oico.

Signed and scaled this 28th day of June, A. D. 1949.

i THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Aniston# Uommuw o] Patents. 

